Ukraine: Russia's blitzkrieg in Severodonetsk fails

Yuriy Sak, an adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister, has said that another Russian blitzkrieg failed due to the stubborn resistance of Ukrainian soldiers. 

The Ukrainian army still controls the Azot plant in Severodonetsk, on the territory of which a large number of civilians are hiding, RBC-Ukraine quotes Sak as saying in an interview with DW.

At the same time, according to him, from a humanitarian point of view, the situation in Severodonetsk is "very, very difficult" and similar to the one in besieged Mariupol, although events are developing more dynamically now.

"There are street fights. In some places, the Ukrainian army is undertaking counterattacks, which could be carried out more effectively if Ukraine received heavy weapons at its disposal as soon as possible," Sak stressed.

Ukraine has received and uses 150 howitzers of 155 mm calibre at the front, but needs more long-range artillery systems, the adviser to the defence minister recalled. 

"The US has announced that it will provide Ukraine with four HIMARS systems. The UK has announced that it will provide Ukraine with MLRS systems... Currently, Ukraine needs about 100 such systems to be able to launch a counteroffensive and liberate our land," Yuriy Sak said.